Why Do Leaves Change Color is a "plain vanilla" site all about leaves! This site offers simple explanations to four questions: Where do leaf colors come from? How do leaves change color? Do leaves change color because of weather? And Why do leavesfall? There is also a link to the Fall Color Report (from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism).

In the Classroom

Use this site as one of multiple sources for researching fall changes. Show students how to take Cornell (two-column) notes and summarize using this information. Use a tool such as 43 Folders Cornell Notes, reviewed here, to help explain Cornell Notes to students. Pair weak readers with strong readers for this activity. Make a graph using Chartle, reviewed here, comparing different types of trees and their rate of change. Find a buddy class in your county, state, or across the country and compare the changes occurring in your areas.

Take a look at the science behind changing leaf colors with this interesting site from Explore Asheville. View a time lapse video of changing colors, learn about the early Greek's theories on why colors change, and find out about changing colors around the world. Information is presented in videos, Google Earth files, and slides. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube.This site includes advertising.

Explore making a hypothesis and investigation methods with this fun fall lesson plan. The site includes step-by-step procedures for investigating why leaves change color along with links to suggested books to use with the lesson, PowerPoints, and student worksheets. Be sure to check out the links on the right side of the page to other resources with more information explaining leaf color change.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this lesson plan in your classroom to explore local leaves changing color in your area. Create a bulletin board showing student investigations and results. Extend this activity for students to explore and label different types of leaves and the trees they came from. Meet another class online in a different part of the country (or world) and compare results from this investigation. Use a site such as Skype (reviewed here).

This is a fabulous site filled with information and visuals to teach about the changing colors of fallleaves. Simply roll your mouse over the different leaves to find out what they will look like in the fall. Choices are also available to view cross-sections of leaves in the summer, early fall, and fall to use as a comparison of the changes throughout the seasons. The attached article gives a scientific explanation of why and how leaves change that can be used with older students; however, younger students can still benefit from the graphics and descriptions at the beginning of the page.

In the Classroom

Use this site to introduce and discuss how leaves change color each fall before taking your class outside to view what is happening in your area. Before going outside have students draw the different types of leaves shown on the site and try to find them outside. Take a digital camera to view leaves in your area and compare them to graphics shown on the site. Use this site as an introduction to fall changes and take pictures of trees in your area throughout the school year to arrange on a time line to show change throughout the year. Share this site as part of your fall festival!

The annual transformation of summer foliage to vivid autumn colors in explained in this simple, informative site. Natural pigments and weather conditions affecting leaf color are described in easy-to-understand text. Before sending your students to the sight, you may want pull out and introduce some related vocabulary words.

This site has a video presentation detailing the process of changing leaf colors. Although the video is specific to leaves found in Maine, it is suitable for students in any area. The video is about 2 minutes long, making it suitable to use as a short introduction to fall changes. There is a link to a text version of information found in the video; however, the link didn't work at the time of the review. Text does appear in the FLASH version, though, for those who may not be able to hear the narration. Several other links to fall foliage information are also available on the site such as kids pages, photo galleries and foliage updates.

In the Classroom

Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on fall foliage on a projector or interactive whiteboard. After viewing the video, take your class outdoors to view foliage in your community. Use this site when creating state reports to use as a comparison between Maine and your state in the fall. View the site early in the fall to introduce the unit, then take pictures of trees in your area each week to document changes throughout the season. Share the video presentation on your interactive whiteboard or projector as part of your fall festival festivities!

This site has an expanding group of interactive weather graphics for those weather anomalies students like to explore. Clicking on a specific weather situation takes you to a page with a text explanation as well as a graphic that you can manipulate. See the seasons, fall foliage, tornado formations, lake effect snow causes, how winter storms bring rain, ice, and snow, atmospheric optics (rainbows, sun dogs, sun pillars, and halos), global warming, the landscape of natural disasters, a hurricane in action, and more. The topics range from simple weather to more complex topics for older students. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom

Use this site as you discuss tornado warnings with your class or when a hurricane is looming nearby. Use it also when classes study geography or meteorology. Project the interactive portions on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups explore one of the topics and present a multi-media or web presentation about it: a wiki page with embedded video examples or a simple interactive book using a tool such as Bookemon (reviewed here).

This seasonal website was created by a teacher. It offers many enrichment activities all about Fall and Thanksgiving. Some examples of activities include: "Catch the Falling Leaves," "Fun in the Garden," and "Find the Differences." Educational topics include numbers, counting, problem solving, logic, and art. Many of these activities require JAVA and/or FLASH. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

This interactive "just-for-fun" site challenges kids to make choices while developing tech-related motor skills. Using left and right arrow keys, students must move the basket-wielding elf forward and backward as he attempts to catch falling leaves and acorns. Different leaves carry different point values, so choose wisely, but stay away from the falling chestnuts. This site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

Discover the science behind the changing autumn leaves with this Internet scavenger hunt. Students can practice simple Web research skills while gaining an understanding of the factors that contribute to the beautiful show of colors each fall.

If leaf collections are part of your science curriculum, check out this beautifully organized site that takes a look at deciduous trees and how to identify them by the color and shape of their leaves. Links to virtual leaf identification guides are also provided.